Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.03 EPS

Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.03, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. Marathon Oil had a net margin of 23.20% and a return on equity of 14.09%. Marathon Oil’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.67 EPS.

Marathon Oil Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of MRO traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $26.15. The company had a trading volume of 9,699,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,703,450. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $26.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 2.22. Marathon Oil has a 52-week low of $21.63 and a 52-week high of $30.06.

Marathon Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Marathon Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Marathon Oil in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Marathon Oil in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Oil from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.66.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Oil

In other news, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of Marathon Oil stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total value of $997,999.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 140,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,893,921.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Marathon Oil news, CFO Dane E. Whitehead sold 73,233 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total value of $1,981,684.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 152,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,113,336.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Patrick Wagner sold 36,094 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total transaction of $997,999.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 140,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,893,921.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 281,332 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,903 in the last quarter. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Marathon Oil Company Profile

Marathon Oil Corporation, an independent exploration and production company, engages in exploration, production, and marketing of crude oil and condensate, natural gas liquids, and natural gas in the United States and internationally. The company also produces and markets products manufactured from natural gas, such as liquefied natural gas and methanol.